Improvement in chairs



" THOMAS tros' rnvrn, OF COUNCIL BLUFFS, IOWA. I

IIMPROVEMVENT IN CHAIRS.

Specification forming part of Letters Patent a... 190,388, .dated May1,1877; a pueaeon filed 7 April 25, .1877.

construction, durable material, and moderate cost. It consists in theconstruction and combination of parts hereinafter described and pointedout in the claims. H

In the drawings, Figure lshows a side elevation of my chair. Fig. 2 is adetail view of detached parts; Fig. 3 is a detail view of thebase-frame, and Fig. 4 is aview in perspective of the entire chair.

A in the drawing indicates the frame of the chair. This may be made ofany tough elastic materiahwell-seasoned' ash or hickory beingpreferable, although I may use metal.

The. side posts and hind legs are each -made in one piece, bentinwardly, as shown at B, at which point they are each united to thefront legs. The front legs, also, and the armrests, are formed out of asingle strip, as shown in Fig. 1, the upper end of the armpiece beingsecured to the posts of the back at b, Fig. 1. Although I prefer thisform of construction, yet a modified form may be made by omitting thearm-rests, as seen in Fig. 4.

The strips forming the frame of the chair are somewhat thickened at B,the point where the rear and front supports are united. This is doneinorder to provide additional strength, and to compensate for theweakening of the parts caused by cutting the hole for the bolt whichunites them also, to secure the necessary degree of elasticity.

The lower part of the frame or skeleton is rigidly bound together bybraces,"as in Fig. 3. In front and rear cross-braces G O are bolted tothe outside of the legs, and the front and back legs are connected bythe side horizontal braces D D. The latter abut at their ends squarelyagainst the inner faces of the legs, and are secured thereto at each endby the bolts or screws d d, which also unite thelower ends of thecross-braces to the same legs. The

advantage of this construction is obvious, since it enables thefastening of both the front and side braces by means of the same screw,thus economizing material, and securing a rigid attachment of thebraces, without weakening the frame by cutting a number of screwholes.The fastenings I intend shall consist of a nut and bolt. The head of theboltn ay be made of ornamental form, and nickelplated, and the nut ismade of a corresponding shape, and also plated, giving ahighly-ornamental appearance to the chair when .:it is finished.

The entire back and seat of my chair is made 1 of an unbroken piece ofmaterial. The kind I prefer is that patented to me October 19,1875, No.169,064. Thisfabricis composed of a springwire warp, interwoven with aweft of any fibrous material. I piece of elastic wire, f, which connectsthe upper extremities of the side posts. This wire is set at its endsinto the ends of the posts, and there secured by a ferrule. It isslightly bowed upward to give additional strength and elasticity to anydownward strain upon the fabric of the back. The latter is bent aroundthe wire, and may be secured in such manner that it shall projectsomewhat forward, as at 9, Fig. 1. It thendrops in nearlya vertical linetill, at the proper point, it is bent at an angle with the back, andbrought forward to form the seat. This fabric, after being once bentinto this form, retains it, by reason of the strength of the wiresforming the warp.

The method of forming the seat and fastening it to the frame is animportant feature of my invention. The fabric, after being bent at g andh, as described, is carried'forward until it passes the arm-pieces. Itis again bent upon itself, as at t, and then carried backward to 70,where it is again bent at about a right angle, and the wires of the warpare passed through the bar or brace e, which is fastened to the front ofthe frame.

By this construction I obtain the highest degree of elasticity andresiliency of all the parts. The fabric of the back and seat beinghighly elastic, in itself, by reason of the numerous spring-wirescomposing its warp, will not only yield to and lit the form of theperson At one end it is secured to a V. l.

sitting in the chair, but will afford, of itself, a soft spring-support,which will receive all jolts or sudden motions. By bending it uponitself at i and is its elastic power is greatly increased, and thus,instead of a sharp, rigid, unyielding ridge at the front of the chair, Iprovide a soft, flexible, rounding surface, 71, which readily yields topressure, and furnishes a most agreeable support for the thighs of theperson occupying the chair.

The elasticity of the frame is mainly located at B, the point ofjunctionof the front and rear legs, and it may be seen that the form of theparts is such as will most readily yield to weight and at the same timefurnish the necessary elasticity with the least possible strain and wearof the parts.

I propose to make a modified form of this chair by omittingthe'armpieces. This form is shown in Fig. 4.. The arm-rest, which inFig. 1 is carried up and united to the sideposts of the back at b, is,in thisform, cut off squarely, and the bar 0 is attached to theextremity of the front legs,.as seen in Fig. 4. It should be observedthat the wiref, to which the top of the back is fastened, as alreadydescribed, is capable of an elastic motion, horizontally as well asvertically. Furthermore, the seat and back being in one unbroken stripof my patented fabric, every portion of the chair is adapted toyieldwith perfect elasticity to the strain put on it, the elasticstrength of each part being nearly proportioned to the degree of strainto which it must be subjected. V I do not propose to claim in thisapplication the fabric of the seat and. back, that being alreadypatented to me; nor do I propose to claim in this particular caseanything which is claimed by me in an application filed by myself,October 26, 1876, and ordered to issue March 14, 1876, for animprovement in chairs. The latter being now in interference,

or standards, a continuous elastic back and seat, as and for thepurposedescribed.

2; A chair having an elastic supportingfraine, combined with a suspendedelastic back and seat, formed in one piece, as set forth. r

3. A chair formed of a wooden or metallic frame, the posts and rear legsand the arms and front-legs being each formed in one piece,

bent inwardly, "and united beneath the seat, as and for the purpose setforth.

4. A chair having the spring-connectionf. unitingthe extremities of theside posts, with or without the suspended back and seat formed inv onepiece, as and for the purpose set forth. I

5. The legs B, having a 're-enforce at their point of junction,-todistribute the elasticity over the upper and lower partsof the chair-'frame, as set forth.

1 6. In combination with the leg-framathe' cross-braces '0 G, and sidebraces D D, said braces being fastened to each other at the point'm, andtheir lower ends connected with the legs at d, bytheboltwhich enters andsecures the side braces, as set forth.

7. In combination with'the frame F and F,

the spring-supportf, and bar 6, adapted to the 10. A chair having anelastic supporting frame, consisting of the elastic side posts,

bent forward and brought under the seat, with the arm pieces and frontlegs formed in a similar manner,the two being united at B, in

the manner and for the purpose shown and described. 7

THOS. TOSTEVIN'.

Witnesses:

' WM. DIXON,

.E. F. M. FAEHTZ.

